Luck or Madness
by Miss Starkweather
Summary: He has been able to go to school and make more friends. But has his luck finally run out. 16 students, including Tom and his nemesis Kyle, are heading to Becon Breacons for a promotional SAS camp. Great. Post Scorpia rising.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi. So this is the first chapter in my new story. The title is up for change so fill free to review with a suggestion. For warning, I haven't read the books for a while so I'm sorry if characters are slightly OC or any mistakes in the plot. This fic takes place after Scorpia Rising and Alex wasn't sent to the Pleasures. **

_**Chapter 1**_

For once it was a fairly ordinary day for Alex. In fact it had been a fairly ordinary week. He hadn't been on any missions since Egypt and was able to attend school now without getting many strange looks. He was actually surprised that MI6 hadn't bothered him yet, demanding that he went on a new mission. He guessed that thing s would be different since, Tulip Jones was now in charge, and actually treated him like a human being, not some top secret weapon. Alex was enjoying the normalcy of life, But knowing his luck, normalcy wasn't going to last for long.

He was currently in his GCSE history class, sitting next to Tom. Alex was trying not to get distracted by Tom's constant practical jokes and was ignoring the rumours spreading around school about an SAS camp. According to the school gossips, Maya and Kristen, it was apparently to try and convince kids to join the army or some other defence force. He dismissed these rumours. It was very unlikely to be true, as he knew from experience that SAS would never tolerate a whole class of maggots (oops. He meant kids). They barely tolerated him. Alex was currently failing history as he missed so many lessons when he had been 'sick'( aka missions) and now he was struggling to remember all the events and dates that resulted in the Russian revolution as well as the causes of WWII. The list went on. He had missed whole topics whilst dealing with Scorpia again and again. He flinched. Scorpia had caused him so much pain, both physical and emotionally. He hadn't been the same since he had lost Jack at the cause of one their ridiculous world domination plots. Ever since Jack had... no... was gone, he had been living on his own. MI6 had wanted him to stay with an agent for his own protection, but, he had refused. He didn't want them interfering in his life any more than they had to. Mr Cole, the history teacher, was droning on about something or other, so Alex, being an opportunist, decided to remember the time he met Jack

_Ten year old Alex was sitting downstairs in the living room, waiting for what uncle Ian said would be his nanny. He was 10 and didn't need a nanny. He already looked after himself when Uncle Ian went on his business trips for the bank._

_Ding. Dong. The doorbell rang, breaking Alex out of his thoughts. He bounced up and ran to the door before it wouldn't be Uncle Ian there, it would be his new nanny. He opened the door and on the other side was a young lady._

_She had red hair, and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Completely the wrong clothes for the time of year, as it was winter. However she didn't look cold at all. Alex thought that this was very odd. Odder that his holidays abroad or uncles Ian's injuries that he has when he gets back from his business trips._

_"Hello," Alex said politely. Uncle Ian had always taught Alex to be polite and give a good impression, even if he did not like the person and Alex definitely did not like his new nanny._

_"You must be Alex" she said in an accent that he recognized from all the shows on TV. American, that's it. She continued to talk, very quickly and all that Alex got from it was that her name was Jack. Strange name for a girl. When she finally stopped, he asked, "Jack? Isn't that a boy's name? "_

Alex was broken out of the happy memory, by Tom poking him.

"What" he hissed. He had liked that memory.

"It's the end of the lesson, Al. Who knew that a teen spy, who has saved the world seven times, can easily be defeated by one of Mr Cole's history lessons." Tom snickered as they walked out the classroom Alex glared and Tom immediately stopped. Just because he was Alex's best friend didn't mean he wasn't scared of his deadly glare, even if it was just a joke. He knew what Alex could do.

"Anyway, at the end of the lesson, Mr Cole said we need to go to the hall 'cause there is an assembly for the whole year. I think it's about the SAS camp."

Before Alex could question Tom, the two boys were ushered into the hall by a teacher, who also told them to be quiet. Alex and Tom quickly found their seats among the rest of Tom's friends. He had gotten to know them better over the past few months as he had actually been at school.

Alex was still confused about what Tom meant by a SAS camp. He thought that were just tales that had spread through the school rumour mill. He hoped that Tom was wrong. But Alex's luck had finally run out. He gazed upon the stage and watched the head teacher walk on stage. Mrs Laura Jones, who had the unfortunate luck to share a name with one Tulip Jones (even though they weren't related), was a short lady, with startling blue eyes and an obsession with the colour pink. She had replaced Mr Bray when he had retired at the end of last year. He was about to ask Tom a question about this supposed camp, when she began to talk.

"Hello students. As you have all heard by now, Brooklands High School is one of the few schools invited to be part of the government program to encourage more young people to join the armed forces. The 2 week camp will give you an insight to how the SAS works and what daily life would be like. As you all know there are only 16 places available for this once in a life time opportunity. So the people that are going are, Georgia Hale, Harry Walker... "

Alex began to relax. He had no need to worry. Was the likely hood of his name being picked out of the other 180 people in his year? The headmaster was nearing the end of his list. The people that had been chosen so far either seemed very excited or looked like they were going to their execution.

"And finally Tom Harris and Alex Rider." The head teacher looked back down at his list. That can't be right. Harris was a prankster and Rider was always ill. There wasn't much she could do about it though. Their names had been picked.

Meanwhile, Alex stiffened the moment he had heard his and Tom's name. He couldn't be going back to hell and he definitely didn't want Tom to experience what he had. He looked over at Tom. He looked extremely pale, which was unusual for the hyper teen. But then Tom had heard his tales about his time spent in hell. The only light amongst the sight of spending more time in hell was the fact that it was very unlikely that K unit would be training them.

20 minutes later and the assembly was almost over, and Alex hadn't budged an inch since his and Tom's name had been called.

"And on a final note," Mrs Jones said, "would all those attending the SAS camp, please stay behind once assembly has finished."

Soon after, the assembly was over, and as all the other students made their way out, Alex and Tom, along with Tom's friends Olivia and James (who strangely had been picked more the camp as well) made their way to the front of the hall. James was Tom's other best friend, for when Alex was absent. He had sandy brown hair, and basically looked like Alex's twin. Olivia had dead straight blonde hair, green eyes, and was very shy. But don't let her shyness distract you, Alex had learnt. She was very clever and had performed the most elaborate practical jokes on Alex. Over the last few months, he had become really close to them. Alex studied the other students who had been picked for the camp. He didn't know most of them. However, he recognised two of them. It was the school bully, Kyle and one of his croonies, Mark. They seemed to think that they were real big shots, and always picked on Alex because of his supposed illnesses. It would be fun to spend a whole 2 weeks with these idiots wouldn't it? Note the sarcasm.

Once they had all found a seat, Mrs Jones began to talk again.

"So I called you down here, as I wanted to run over a few things about the camp with the SAS unit that will be running it. However, it seems that they have got caught up, or lost or something or other and are running a few minutes late. So just talk amongst yourselves until they arrive. And talk quietly as there are still lessons going on. " She finished talking and left the room.

As soon as she said this, Alex turned round to Tom, Olivia and James and bluntly said, "What the hell is going on? SAS camp? Why did no one tell me?" He was fuming. He glared at Tom. Tom should have told him the moment the word SAS was mentioned. He guessed though, that Tom had his reasons for hiding it from him.

"We heard about it a month or so ago and we didn't think much of it. I mean what was the likely hood of us getting picked. Like 1 in a million." said James carefully. He didn't want to piss of Alex any more than he was.

"So why... "Alex started.

"I haven't finished yet mate. We didn't tell you as, one you were ill with... "

"Spanish Influenza" Olivia butted in.

"Yeah... That "James continued, "and two... we forgot"

"You forgot!" Alex roared. "How could you forget something as important as this?" That last comment was mainly directed towards Tom, as he actually knew the importance of knowing about the camp. Tom just grimaced. He couldn't tell Alex his reasons now, as there were over people around who did not know that Alex was a teen super spy who had trained with the SAS. He just signed to Alex that he would tell him later.

Just then, Mrs Jones returned followed by 4 rather buff men, whose muscles bulged under their shirts. Alex recognised them straight away. He began to sink down in his seat. This had just got a lot worse. They seemed very involved in their argument that they were having that they hadn't realised that they had entered the room.

"Why did you let Eagle have the map? You know he is useless at navigation?" one of them said.

"And why did we let you drive?" another said.

"Um guys, look around" the ginger haired one said with a Scottish accent. They stopped arguing.

"Oh, right"

They turned around to face students, who looked completely confused. Their response apparently explained it all.

"We got lost".

Mrs Jones walked up to the podium again. "As you can see, the SAS unit have arrived. Students, let me introduce you to K Unit who will be the unit in charge of the camp."

Alex groaned.

**AN: So what did you guys think. Please review. I'll try and update every 2 weeks at the latest. Miss Starkweather over and out. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So next chapter. I was debating whether to devide this into to smaller chapters then I decided to ask you guys as the readers what you think, as currently my beat Wherestheturtle, who is very helpful is out and about and I really wanted to post the chapter today so I thought ... why not?**

**_Previously_**

_"As you can see, the SAS unit have arrived. Students, let me introduce you to K Unit who will be the unit in charge of the camp." _

_Alex groaned._

He immediately looked down. He did not want K Unit to recognise him, even though it had been two years. Two years since Wolf (apart from the episode at Point Blanc), Eagle and Snake had seen him. He had changed, as he had aged and gained a few more scars on his adventures, so they probably wouldn't recognise him. His blonde hair had become more of a sandy brown and his blue eyes had lost their cheerful spark. But still, Fox had managed to recognise him as an Afghan refugee. Alex had no idea how he did that, considering that he hadn't recognised himself. He didn't want to risk being found out. Alex had left that life behind, and he did not want K Unit to remind him of it.

Glancing up quickly, he stared and carefully analysed (his natural spy instincts coming through) the four men up on the stage. It was only then, when he noticed one person he did not recognise, he realised that K Unit must of gained a new member, because Fox had been seconded and joined MI6. The new guy was short, unusual for a member of the SAS, as it put them at a serve disadvantage during training and missions. Alex wondered how he got over the wall in the obstacle course – it was 8 foot high. He also had cropped brown hair and green eyes. There was a nasty scar running down the side of his face along with a permanent scowl. He must have gained the scar on a mission; it was the only plausible explanation. Overall, the new member looked even less pleased than the other members of K Unit to be here. Alex wondered how someone could look angrier than Wolf could, because Wolf was extremely scary when angry. Alex knew from experience.

Wolf stepped up to the podium and Alex looked up at him, so it wouldn't appear that he was being disrespectful. The SAS valued respect the most, and the one thing that could really get them annoyed is being disrespectful. Also, he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself because that would be... bad. Actually, more than bad…. It would be terrible. Alex almost laughed when he saw how awkward Wolf looked, standing behind the podium. Wolf was definitely not meant to be a teacher for sure. But he stifled his laugh when he saw the angry glare that Wolf was giving them. He looked pissed. Well, he looked beyond pissed. Alex guessed that Wolf wasn't very pleased to have to look after a bunch of school kids for two weeks for a supposed promotional camp. Alex would be annoyed if he had to stay with these 15 other idiots. Yes he included Tom in that count, because Tom could be the biggest idiot of them all if he wanted to.

"We are K Unit. I'm Wolf, this is Eagle, Snake, and Mouse." he said, whilst pointing at the named members of K Unit. Mouse was the new guy. Alex didn't think that he looked or acted like a Mouse, apart from the fact he was short. "We will we be in charge of your stay. Don't expect it to be easy. It will be physically and emotional challenging. The camp will be a watered down version of real SAS training so it will be fine for you girls because as you all know, girls aren't allowed in the SAS, as the training is too physically challenging for them. It will give you the experience of SAS life, which is the whole point of the camp. Be at school at 6:00 am Monday, with your gear. That is all."

Everyone was quiet. Wolf's 'pep' talk (if you could call it that) had changed everyone's perspective of the camp. No one was excited any more. Most people wondered why on earth that they were chosen. Alex just smirked. They were in for a hell of a ride.

Not much happened after that. Snake talked about health and safety, being the unit medic and gave them all (except Alex) parental permission forms. Alex did not need one, as he was classed as emancipated minor as he lived on his own and even if he wasn't, MI6 would sign them for him. Eagle gave a talk about equipment and gave everyone list of what they needed. Let's just say that there was not much on it and most clothes, meaning uniform (which would be altered to fit the kids according to Eagle) would be provided. Fortunately, Alex already had every else on the list such as a pen knife and combat boots, left over from his spying days and his previous training with the SAS. He might even have spares that he could lend to Tom, as his parents were still arguing and probably won't have the time to get the stuff for him. Mouse didn't say a thing, . Alex guessed that he was a quiet guy, hence the code name. Wolf did a brief conclusion; otherwise known as don't be late… We will not wait for you. The meeting finished around 30 minutes after it started, and Mrs Jones sent them back to class. Great... More geography. Alex hated geography.

0_0 - 0_0

It was now lunch time after a very boring geography class about rivers, and Alex and Tom had gathered in the canteen with James and Olivia to discuss the camp. The canteen was crowded, full of hungry teenagers wanting their lunch. Luckily, Alex had brought his lunch from home that day like he did most days, and hence didn't have to face the ever growing queue for what Brooklands called food. However the school food was only marginally better than the SAS slop and that was saying something.

Once everyone had got their lunch, they sat down at an empty table and began to talk. Tom sat next to Alex, with James and Olivia opposite them. Olivia best friend, Maria was currently absent due to her flute lesson, which conveniently always seemed to be very long, and run through her lunch hour.

"So what do you think about the camp. I mean at first I was pretty excited, but after that guy's talk... Wolf I think his name was." Everyone looked him blankly. "I'm talking about the tall guy, Hispanic looking, talked first… I'm not so sure." James said

"It's going to be hard. I know that for sure. I've seen documentaries about the selection progress. 40 mile hikes with 55kg packs to be completed in 20 hours across the Rocky hills. But it's a good opportunity for me. They don't let girls in the SAS as it is supposedly too tough. Sexist people." Olivia said putting a positive note on the gloom that was hanging over the table, well apart from calling the SAS sexist. Was she the only one excited to spend 2 weeks in hell? Olivia, Alex determined, was very different and quirky and loved to put a different spin on things, kind of like Luna from Harry Potter but Olivia wasn't as ditzy. "So Tom, Alex what do you think?" she asked

"Well... I think... "

"You can think...?" Alex interrupted Tom. He wanted to change the topic. He wasn't sure if he could answer Olivia's question with showing his utter hatred of the place and blowing his cover. By cover, Alex meant his job as a spy for MI6. He didn't know what else he was meant to call it?

"Why, yes Al... Of course I can think." Tom said, catching on to Alex's subtle change includes topic. After 2 years of being best friends with a teenage spy, he had learnt to notice Alex's subtle tricks, especially when he was agitated or uncomfortable. If the others had noticed the subtle change of topic, they didn't say anything. "If I couldn't think, how all my genius would pranks work?"

"But do your plans really require thinking? They seem pretty dumb me" Alex smirked, making James burst out in laughter and Olivia smile. Tom shoved Alex in the arm, and Alex half faked glared. Alex was still angry with Tom, about not telling him about the camp. It was a shame that this normalcy wouldn't last. He was enjoying the playful jokes with Tom and the fact that he could just relax, and kind of be himself. On Monday, it would all be over. He would be in his own personal hell.

Alex interrupted the ongoing debate about Tom's ability to think, which had led onto James's ability to think before acting, claiming that he needed Tom to help him with his history homework, as they were in the same class and Alex had missed the whole unit due to his 'illnesses'. Tom knew that this was a lie though. He had helped Alex with that particular piece of homework last week, and knew that Alex was now fully up to date so unless that they had got a piece that Tom missed today Alex wanted to talk to him.

Tom and Alex left the canteen together missing James's and Olivia's shared look at each other, and began to wander the halls. They were awkwardly silent for a while until Alex brought up the topic that they were both tense about.

"So why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked Tom, hoping that he had a very good reason so he wouldn't have to ignore him for the rest of the week (it was Monday today and a week is a long time). One of Alex's few weaknesses was the ability to hold a grudge, which always seemed to land him in trouble especially when the grudge was against the bad guy. He couldn't just get up and leave the bad guy, he had to always leave a reminder of himself, unless MI6 was forcefully dragging him away.

Tom sighed. He knew that Alex was going to ask this.

"Look." he paused trying to find the best way to word what he wanted to say. The usual hyper and rather happy Tom had become serious and solemn. This always happened to Tom when he had to talk to Alex. Perhaps it was because of the severity of Alex's job. "I…I … didn't tell you... because... because ... I've seen what MI6 have done to you. They wrecked your life and you were finally getting a chance at normalcy after Ja... no ... everything." Tom was about to say Jack's death, but decided against mentioning the topic as it would only make the conversation worse. "And I didn't want to ruin that for you. I mean you have been happy and stress free and if I told you about the camp you would have spent the last 2 months worrying instead of recovering. I also didn't think you would get in. 16 places and there are 180 in our year. Small chance you would get a place. So why worry you over nothing. I thought I was doing the best thing for you."

Alex's thoughts were racing. Tom actually cared enough about him to try and protect him from mental anguish. Someone wanted to protect him. That was new. Most people either wanted to kill him or use him. Alex was glad that he trusted Tom in the long run. He had someone who understood him and was friends with him for being him, not for being an international super spy. Alex smiled. Something that he does not do genuinely very often any more (he used to smile a lot at Blunt to try and annoy him - let's just say Blunt needed a bit of happiness in his life)

"Thanks, Tom. I needed that normalcy. Shame it's over. The game is on," he joked the last part

"The game is on...?" Tom queried, not getting the reference and looking so confused that Alex found it cute.

"Yes, Lestrade... The game is on." Alex smirked.

"Oh I get it... Wait... I'm Lestrade. How am I Lestrade...? Aren't I Watson...?"

Alex burst out laughing at Tom's horror at being Lestrade and soon both boys were laughing their heads off. They were still laughing when they reached their next and final lesson of the day, chemistry where it was highly likely that Tom would make something or rather explode.

0_0 - 0_0

After an eventful chemistry lesson, where they were just looking at neutralization of acids and bases, and somehow Tom had made three explosions before being shouted at by Mr Dylan and been sent out for the rest of the day, Alex headed towards the bike racks. He ignored the usual bullying comments from Kyle and his gang, unlocked his bike, said to Tom that he would call him later and started cycling to his new flat.

Alex had moved into the flat after Jack had died. He was now living alone and his house in Chelsea was too big for just him and it hold to many painful memories. However, he couldn't bring himself to sell it, so instead of it sitting empty (which would be a huge waste) he had rented it to a small family, who needed the room. Alex was glad that his house was finally been put to some good use. His new flat was still pretty big, with 2 bedrooms, one with an ensuite bathroom, a decent kitchen and living area.

He arrived at the block of flats and locked up his bike in the communal bike rack before climbing the three flights of stairs. He could of used the lift, but Alex enjoyed the excessive. Dumping his school bag on one of the many boxes lining the whole hallway, that still needed unpacking; he went to his room and changed out of his uniform. He knew that he had to take an unplanned trip to the bank (aka MI6) , to discuss this camp and to see if there was any way at all that he could get out of it. He would even be willing to go on a mission than spend more time with K Unit in hell where there was a high probably that his secrets would be exposed. Secrets that he didn't want anyone to know, especially his classmates. Grabbing a hoodie and a packet of crisps from the kitchen counter, Alex quickly headed out the door, towards the nearest tube station.

Half an hour later, Alex was sitting in an office on the fifteenth floor of the Royal and General Bank, facing Mrs Jones with a miserable scowl on his face. There was no use for pleasantries. He knew that the outcome of this unplanned meeting most likely wouldn't be what he wanted.

"Mrs Jones," he said curtly.

"Good evening Alex. This is a surprise." she said. Alex could smell the ever present peppermint in her mouth, and eyed a bowl of her favourite sweet on her desk. The office had changed greatly since Blunt had retired. Gone was the great sense of forthcoming doom, replaced with a kind and friendly atmosphere that actually made Alex feel slightly welcomed. The walls seemed brighter and on Mrs Jones's desk was pictures if her family. He guessed that the room felt a lot more... her. A lot nicer than Blunt's desk was.

"You know that we weren't going to call on you again." she continued.

"Yes. I know that so why am I going to a compulsory promotional SAS camp with school. I thought that I would no longer be involved, that includes training. Is there any way at all you can pull me out? I might even go on a mission. Do not send me back there"

Mrs Jones's eyebrows rose. She had not heard of anything of the sort about a promotional camp. Her face then turned very serious. She wanted Alex away from this life. He deserved it, especially with the amount that he had sacrificed for them. And now he was being dragged back to place, where it all began, and no wonder why he was angry. Alex didn't want to go back there so badly, that he even wanted to go a mission. Alex never willing volunteered for a mission. Well nearly never.

"Mr Girk" she shouted. A very tall young man walked in. He had short brown hair, and surprisingly green eyes. He looked like the guy who would take his job very seriously. "Get the sarge on the phone. Ask him what on earth is going on with this camp and why on earth Alex's name is on the list. If he doesn't know who Alex is, tell him it's Cub." she paused and looked at Mr Girk's very confused face. "Now, Mr Girk" she said and he quickly ran out of the room.

When Mrs Jones was ordering Mr Girk around, Alex was sitting there shocked. She didn't know about the camp. It wasn't actually a ploy to get Alex to spy for them again. In actual fact, she looked even angrier than Alex was.

"Alex," Mrs Jones said slowly, "That was Mr Andy Girk, he is the new deputy. He is very good, and I feel that you can fully trust him if anything happens to me. He has orders never to use unless the situation is critical, you agree, and are sent with the required amount of back up." She paused, allowing Alex to process the new information before continuing on. "I try and do everything I can do to try and get out of going to the SAS camp, if that is what you really want, but in my opinion" Alex gave her a quizzical look, "Yes. My opinion, Alex, it would be more beneficial that you went." Alex opened his mouth to argue but before he could say anything Mrs Jones continued on with her next sentence. "And before you say anything Alex let me explain. By beneficial, I don't mean training. You don't need any more of that. I mean for normalcy. If you don't go, we would have to make an excuse and this excuse would probably mean an illness. It would make people think strangely of you again, and it would seem too convenient, that you got ill just before going off to a hard, gruelling SAS camp. You understand me so far?"

Alex just nodded. He was no longer angry at Mrs Jones, the camp wasn't her fault and he understand Mrs Jones's reasoning, but still he really didn't want to go back to hell.

"Also, I believe it would give you an opportunity to get to know people better. I suspect some of your friends are going, and that is why you are so hesitant to go, but drop out as well. If you wanted to drop out, you would be shouting at me at the moment, to shut up and make it happen, would you Alex?"

He paused for a moment, debating whether to tell her who was going, but Alex then realised that she would probably find out anyway. "Yeah, I guess so. Tom, James and Olivia are all going, and I guess I don't want them realising what I do or anything". Somehow, remarkably MI6 still hadn't realised that Tom knew about his job. He wasn't sure how they didn't and nor did they ask how Tom knew to turn up at the hospital when Alex got injured. Alex suspected that they were just ignoring him for his sake.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Mrs Jones's telephone on her desk rang, and she quickly picked it up.

"Hello, Mrs Jones here" she said and then paused listening to the reply.

"OK. So what did they say" Another pause.

"Alright. I'll tell him that. Goodbye, Mr Girk" and she put the phone down.

"So Alex, as you heard that was Mr Girk, and he had some news about the camp. The camp is a genuine SAS promotion, and it the first year that they have ran it, so your school was picked from the 250 other schools that applied for the trial. Since it is a trial, they decided only to have 16 students come to the camp, and after it is complete, they will give their own individual opinion to the Sarge. As far as we can tell, all the names were picked out of a hat, and so it was by pure luck that you and your three friends got a place to attend. The same thing happened with choosing which unit was look after you all. However, I believed that was slightly rigged as K Unit has had experience with dealing with teens. According to our contacts, it too late to pull out, as all the details have been sent, and that all they are waiting for are the parental permission forms, which you don't need. However, I may be able to pull a few strings to get you out if you really wanted to. But I'm not sure if I would be able to do it by next week."

"So I guess that would mean I have to go?" Alex asked. It was a rhetorical question. He thought about it for a very quick second, before saying, " Yeah… Ok…. I will go but on a few conditions. I will be doing the same training as everyone else. I will not be singled out for extra training unless I want more practise. Also I do not want anyone knowing that I was Cub and that I worked MI6, especially K Unit. If I have to tell them, it will be on my terms and I will decide what I tell them, including my classmates. Yep. I think that is it."

"I guess that's alright Alex. Just make sure that you keep your cover well. I do not want to deal with any extra paper work. I already have enough as it is. Also Alex, have fun. Be a teenager. Think of the camp as holiday, where you can have fun and muck around as you want. Just don't tell them I said that."

Alex grinned. Mrs Jones had a much better sense of humour than Alan Blunt ever did. Maybe this camp would be so bad.

As Alex left the room after discussing the finer details of what was going to happen, she sighed. The soldiers in the SAS were in for one hell of a ride, if Alex Rider was going to Brecon Beacons. The mischievous grin that he gave her, when she told him to be a teenager. Oh well, she thought, they are the SAS after all. If they can't cope with some teenagers, how would they cope with terrorists and national security.

**AN: So what did you guys think... Was the chapter tooo long?  
Anyway I would like to thank those 10 wonderful reviewers...  
****_Platero, Kaekoa, Aneeta Potter, FateOfChaos, yashendra2797, _****pageturner97, 2lazy2signin (all though next time signing may help me thank you properly) , MLM24, Guest, PhotogMyLuv92.  
I am trying to include more detail for all those who said that it needed more.  
**

**I would also like to thank the 13 favouriters and the 38 followers... I did not expect that response ... So THANK YOU GUYS, you made my day. I am now constantly stalking my emails. So please Read and Review... your reviews are greatly valued and very helpful. :)  
**

**So until next time ( hopefully next week) Miss Starkweather**

**Over and Out :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait for the next chapter so here it is... Hope you guys like it...**

_Previously _

_As Alex left the room after discussing the finer details of what was going to happen, she sighed. The soldiers in the SAS were in for one hell of a ride, if Alex Rider was going to Brecon Beacons. The mischievous grin that he gave her, when she told him to be a teenager. Oh well, she thought, they are the SAS after all. If they can't cope with some teenagers, how would they cope with terrorists and national security?_

Alex groaned. It was 11am on a Monday morning and instead of being stuck in double maths like, everyone else in his year, he was stuck on a bus with 15 other rowdy teens, and an unknown SAS chaperone, who strangely looked a lot like Ben (or maybe his long lost twin) heading towards hell. The noise in the bus was deafening, which Alex had expected as they had been cooped up on this bus for at least 5 hours now and the chaperone who was wearing standard SAS uniform, wasn't doing anything. He was just listening to music whilst reading a book. The chaperone wasn't very happy to be looking after a bunch of kids, he had been reading for the whole trip. Alex noted that he was now onto his third book. Alex couldn't understand how he did that, especially with this noise.

Alex was sitting next to Tom, who had spent the night before in Alex's guest bedroom, as both his parents had told Tom, that 6 in the morning was too early and that he better find his own way. Alex's flat was closer to Brooklands than Tom's house was, and it also meant that the two boys could pack together. Alex in the end had lent Tom quite a few important pieces of kit including a pen knife and a compass. They had left his flat, at half past five, extremely tired, as they had stayed up the night before playing video games at Tom's insistence ( Alex thought that they should sleep), and they arrived at school at dead on 6. All the other kids, when they arrived where incredibly tired. It seemed like they had spent most of the night awake instead of sleeping, and they were now regretting it.

Now, they were all wide awake, extremely excited and giving Alex a massive headache. The noise was just getting louder and louder. Tom was chatting away to everyone around him, about the latest football match between Chelsea and Arsenal, and how Chelsea was now top of the league. Tom had already talked about the camp, who he liked on the X Factor, as well as how disappointed that he was missing the chemistry test. Who would be disappointed about that? Alex was wondering when Tom would run out of things to talk about and was about to tell everyone to shut up, when a guy at the front, who Alex vaguely recognised as Harry Walker from his English class shouted over the noise, "Look! We're almost there" and pointed towards something out the window.

At once, everyone (excluding the chaperone and the bus driver) scrambled to the nearest window to look outside. Alex copied what everyone else did, purely on the fact that he had to act as if he had never seen the place before. This meant that Alex was stuck between two squealing girls that he didn't know, to look at the boring Welsh countryside. The only evidence, as far as he could tell, that they had arrived was an old rusty green sign, with the faint white lettering, saying Brecon Beacons – 5 miles. It was hard to read as the letters were peeling due to age and the sun was creating an unnatural glare. Convenient, Alex thought. This was the first time Alex had actually seen the sign, as the last time he came (which was approximately 2 years ago) he was drugged and woke up in this rather big house, which apparently was only meant for visiting MI6 agents.

Alex sat back down. He wasn't that excited about the whole prospect of the camp, and didn't want to waste valuable energy standing up; when he knew that he could use it later. Also, he could see out the window perfectly fine, sitting down, and had no clue why everyone else was still standing. Probably because they were over excited teenagers, who had been cooped up on a bus for several hours.

Two minutes later the bus ground to a halt, in front of a set of iron gates, topped with barbed wire. On the front of the gates was an emblem. A sword wreathed in flames, pointing downwards, with the motto _who dares wins. _This was the badge that the SAS wear on the coveted sand coloured berets. It meant that they officially arrived at the entrance of the camp, which official name is classified. There was also a checkpoint office (like a ticket booth) to one side and the driver of the bus, was talking to soldier inside. Alex tried to make out what they were saying, however he was distracted by the chaperone finally doing his job and shouting at the kids, who were now anxiously waiting to get off the bus.

"Alright kiddies," he said, "As you can see we have reached the gates for the entrance to the base. However, the road from now on becomes unsuitable for the bus, which means…" he paused putting on a playful grin, "you have to walk the next 2 miles to the centre of base, with your bags. So I hope that you listened to Eagle when you were given your equipment list and brought ruck sacks." After he said this, he turned towards the gates (which had been opened the soldier inside the checkpoint) and began to walk. He turned back. "Well… What are you waiting for?" he smirked, and continued walking.

All the teens raced to get out the bus and grabbed their bags, or in some cases, suitcases. Alex smirked. Those who had brought suitcases were going to have a very fun time trying to get them to the huts, where he presumed they would be saying. The base, as he remembered, only had one supposed road. The one that their chaperone had just started walking down. It only led to the centre of the base. So trying to pull suitcases up a very muddy hill to get to their huts would be very interesting. Fortunately, Alex, Tom, James and Olivia had been clever enough to listen to the equipment list. They grabbed their ruck sacks, and after helping each other lift them on to their backs, (they were very heavy) started to walk down the road. They were the first ones to leave. Alex looked behind him and saw, Kyle, the school bully, who unfortunately was attending the camp, try to wheel his Manchester United suitcase down the road. Let's just say, walking the 2 miles will take him a very long time.

At the same time that the kids from Brooklands, were nearing their second hour into their long journey to Wales, K Unit were finally meeting to discuss how on earth that they were going to manage the 16 teenagers, and how they were going to 'train' them. They probably should have done it earlier, however things had come up or they were just delaying it for the last possible moment. K Unit, especially Wolf and Mouse, were not very happy to have to look after a bunch of kids for 2 weeks on their vacation time. Looking after Cub was hard enough, so how would they cope with 16 moody brats.

"I say we just, take them for a swim and leave them to drown," Wolf said half serious. Wolf was the most opposed to having these kids around. They would just remind him of Cub. A kid who was more confusing than anyone else that he knew, especially after he saw him snowboarding down a mountain on an ironing board. In actual fact, even though Wolf doesn't show it, he liked Cub. Through the whole time of SAS selection he didn't complain once, unlike the other soldiers. He even helped them at times, such as when he stole the matches of Sarge, so they could light a fire. The one important detail that Wolf wanted to know about Cub was his age. He was definitely younger than everyone else, but Wolf guessed that he had to be over 16, to be even let anywhere near the base. Wolf wondered what Cub was doing now? Probably living in the family mansion with his rich parents, but that still didn't explain what happened at Point Blanc.

"And you suppose that we wouldn't get kicked out for that," Snake said with a Scottish accent. Snake was the most sensible of the group, and was the one who usually get the others particularly Eagle on track.

"I have an idea," Eagle shouted. Eagle had the tendency to be immature at times, but he happened to have the greatest eyesight (hence the name Eagle) and was a very good sniper. As well as this, Eagle used his creativity, which comes from acting like a 5 year old, to create the best strategies and tactics in the SAS. However, usually when Eagle has an idea, it is not a good thing, as K Unit had learnt during various points of selection.

"No you don't. Your ideas suck" growled Wolf.

"No. They don't" Eagle replied quickly. He started to explain his idea before anyone could stop him. "We could just lock them in their huts for 2 weeks, and give them food through a window. It means that we wouldn't have to see them."

Everyone just stared at Eagle. Mouse sighed,  
"No, Eagle. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to do that." Mouse usually never spoke. The only time he did, was when Eagle's ideas got too extreme or when he had to answer an order given to him by the Sarge or another commanding officer.

"Why don't we just get them to do the assault cause and go on really big hikes? It means that we still wouldn't have to see them as much, Eagle, but we are not locking them away and violating human rights laws," Snake said.

"And since these are unfit, annoying teenagers, all this 'exercise' will tire them out so they will sleep at night….. We could do night ops." Wolf suggested. They continued discussing this for many hours. They had almost got the timetable set up, when Lion, a member of D Unit, came running in.

"Sarge said for me to tell you that the kiddies are here"

Alex and his friends (he guessed that he could call them his friends) were the first of the Brookland students to arrive at the meeting point in the centre of the base. The walk hadn't been that bad. Tom and the other's had talked, whilst Alex had just listened and focused on the task ahead – trying to not look better than everyone else. Tom could sense Alex's anxiety and tried to involve him the conversation, which Alex thought was nice of him. But eventually, he gave up, when he realised that Alex was only going to give one word answers and didn't want to talk.

Alex looked around the base (well camp. He didn't know what to call it). Last time he came here, there were nine huts, a shower block and a dining hall. This time, when he looked around, he saw 2 more, larger huts, and an extra temporary shower block (it was similar to the toilets on construction sites). He guessed that is where they would be sleeping for the duration of the camp. Before Alex could point out his discovery to Tom, Olivia and James, a large burly man walked up to them. He, like everyone else in the camp, was wearing military uniform, although his was a lot cleaner than the other soldiers Alex had seen around. It was the Sergeant. Out of instinct, Alex almost stood to attention, before realising that he didn't need to.

"Only four," he said whilst looking at them, "I was informed that there would be 16 of you." The Sarge's eyes glanced over them, and paused when he got to Alex. He stared at him for a moment before giving a quick nod. The Sarge was surprised. Cub was here. There was probably a reason behind it, so the Sarge decided to not to act upon it, and that he would ring Mrs Jones, and ask what do with him.

"There are 16 of us" Olivia said. "Sir," she quickly added on the end, thinking that it would probably be a good idea. "Last, we saw of them was about a hill or so back. They were trying to get their suitcases through a puddle." Alex smirked. Idiots.

The Sarge just stared at them. So out of 16, only 4 were clever enough to follow orders. This was going to be one hell of a camp, and hadn't even started yet. He looked down at the clipboard that he was holding, and scanned the names, wondering which one of them was Cub's. He was trying to pass the time, waiting for the others to show up. A group of soldiers walked passed. That reminded the Sarge, where were K Unit.

"Lion", he said calling out to the member of D Unit, "Go and find K Unit. Tell them the kiddies are here."

"Yes, Sarge" Lion saluted.

After about 10 minutes waiting with the Sarge, a large rumble broke the awkward silence that had developed. Alex looked towards where the noise was coming from, and saw a hilarious sight. The other kids from Brookland, including Kyle, were moaning as they continued to drag their suitcases. Nearly every one of them, were covered in mud. Kyle had it worst off. He was covered head to toe in the brown stuff, and his brand new Manchester United suitcase, no longer looked brand new. In fact it wasn't even red any more. Alex tried to hold in his laughs, but it was too much and he burst out laughing. He even swore he thought he saw the Sarge with a grin on his face. Tom, James and Olivia looked at him weirdly. Alex never laughed, well rarely ever.

Kyle and everyone else, finally reached their destination, and immediately started complaining to the Sarge. The Sarge's face just got redder and redder. It was an unspoken rule that no one complained to the Sarge, unless you were well dying or had a death wish. It wasn't long until the Sarge exploded.

"BE QUIET!" Everyone was shocked into silence. "I am not here to listen to your complaints. You lot are disgraceful. Not even day one of camp and only four people followed orders and brought a ruck sack. Four out of the sixteen of you. Four. If that walk was in a real war, well only four of you would still be alive." He paused, letting the message sink in. "I am the Sargent, highest ranking officer on this base. You will address me, and any other soldier as Sir. Do I make myself clear?"

He was answered by silence.

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes, Sir" they all chorused back, in the same way they chorused good morning to their teachers at school.

"I am going to do the roll call. Answer, and only answer, when your name is called." He looked down at his list, and read the first name,

"Bentley, Natalie"

"Present, Sir" a girl near the back of the group called. Alex looked around, wondering where K Unit were. The Sarge had sent for them ages ago. Maybe, that's why he is so annoyed at the moment, as he was stuck here with the teens instead of K Unit. Alex must have zoned out, as the Sarge said,

"Rider, Alex"

"Huh…? Here, Sir." The Sarge just looked at him. Alex guessed that he was putting a name to a face, and registered that Alex Rider was Cub. He continued through the list, and just as he finished K Unit came running from one of the huts, on the eastern side of camp.

"Sorry, we are late, Sir", Wolf said being the leader of the Unit and therefore the one responsible for their tardiness, "We were just finishing of the final details for their timetable, whilst they are here"

The Sarge just nodded and accepted K Unit's reason. He turned back to the group of kids (and Cub), and said,

"Now K Unit are here, I am going to leave you in your capable hands. I do not want to be told that any of you are misbehaving, or there will be a severe punishment." On that happy note, which Alex was sure that the sarge would do if anything bad happened; the Sarge turned around and marched off. That left 15 rowdy teenagers, an annoyed SAS Unit and a mischievous 16 year old ex-spy standing in the middle of hell. This wasn't going to end well.

**AN: So a few things I need to say... First I apologise for my dreadful spelling in Chapter 2's authors note, it was terrible. Secondly Thankyou to all those who reviewed, followed and favourited, I have had over 1000 views - Yay- and thank you to my Beta Wherestheturtle. Finally, it is sad for me to say but my updates will be slowing down. I go back to school on Monday and I start and for all those Australians out there who know, that is an important year so I may not get as much time to write. However, I will try and update at least once a month, preferably more. So what do you think of the chapter ? **

**Read and Review, **

**Miss Starkweather - over and out**


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